{"id":97,"date":"2026-06-15T17:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/chapter\/lucretius-de-rerum-natura-vi-96-159-de-tonitrv\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:34:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:34:32","slug":"lucretius-de-rerum-natura-vi-96-159-de-tonitrv","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.psgaesthetics.uk\/lucretius\/chapter\/lucretius-de-rerum-natura-vi-96-159-de-tonitrv\/","title":{"raw":"Lucretius, De Rerum Natura VI.96\u2013159 (DE TONITRV)","rendered":"Lucretius, De Rerum Natura VI.96\u2013159 (DE TONITRV)"},"content":{"raw":"
\n
1. Introductory Context: The \u201cMagic\u201d of Causal Logic<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/header>For those not entirely submerged in the spirit of the modern age\u2014those who occasionally feel like spectators of the intellectual attitudes of their contemporaries\u2014the poem of Lucretius continues to work its \u201cmagic.\u201d This perspective, famously shared by Albert Einstein in his 1924 foreword to the Diels translation, highlights the profound impression made by Lucretius\u2019s \u201cfirm confidence\u201d in the intelligibility of the world. Lucretius, as a faithful disciple of Epicurus, places absolute trust in the \u201ccausal connectedness\u201d of every event in the universe. Einstein admired Lucretius as an \u201cindependent man equipped with lively senses and reasoning,\u201d one who imagined a world based on an \u201catomistic-mechanical worldview\u201d long before the advent of modern scientific results. For Einstein, Lucretius represents the triumph of speculative curiosity over the \u201cslavish fear\u201d of the unknown.\n\nThis transmission of wisdom across millennia is what David Attenborough identifies as the primary value of the printed book. Attenborough describes such works as \u201cmemes\u201d\u2014vessels in which human experience and knowledge are embedded and handed down from generation to generation, \u201coutside the body.\u201d He specifically values the 1515 Aldine edition of Lucretius, printed by Aldus Manutius in Venice. This edition, renowned for its \u201cwonderfully elegant italic script,\u201d served as a crucial tool for conveying information throughout the six centuries leading up to the electronic age. For Attenborough, the tactile experience of reading such an edition connects the modern scholar directly to the Renaissance humanists who first rescued Lucretius from the silence of the Middle Ages.\n\nLines 96\u2013159 of Book VI serve as a definitive example of this causal logic. Here, Lucretius addresses the phenomenon of thunder (DE TONITRV), removing it from the realm of divine intervention and placing it within the \u201ccausal connectedness\u201d of nature. By using physical analogies\u2014such as the snapping of theater awnings or the crackling of laurel branches in a fire\u2014he demonstrates that terrifying celestial events are the result of the regular motion of immutable atoms. By mapping the physics of the sky onto the mechanics of the household and the forum, Lucretius replaces the thunderbolts of Jupiter with the observable laws of matter and void.\n

2. DE TONITRV: Parallel Latin and English Text<\/h3>\nThe following text presents the Latin established by Hermann Diels (1923) alongside a corresponding English translation.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Line<\/td>\n95a DE TONITRV (Latin Text: H. Diels, 1923)<\/td>\nEnglish Translation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
95<\/td>\n95a DE TONITRV<\/b><\/td>\n95a ON THUNDER<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
96<\/td>\nPrincipio tonitru quatiuntur caerula caeli<\/td>\nFirst of all, the blue of the sky is shaken with thunder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\npropterea quia concurrunt sublime uolantes<\/td>\nbecause the clouds of heaven, flying on high,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\naetheriae nubes contra pugnantibus uentis.<\/td>\nclash together when the winds are at war.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nnec fit enim sonitus caeli de parte serena,<\/td>\nFor no sound comes from a clear part of the sky,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
100<\/td>\nsed qua cumque magis denso sunt agmine nubes,<\/td>\nbut wherever the clouds are in a denser host,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ntarn magis hinc magno fremitus fit murmure saepe.<\/td>\nthe more frequently do they rumble with a loud noise.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\npraeterea neque tam condenso corpore extant<\/td>\nMoreover, clouds cannot consist of a body so dense<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nnubes ut saxi sint aut ut ligni uideantur,<\/td>\nas are stones or wood,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nnec rursum tam uanae sunt ut fumus hiulcus<\/td>\nnor again are they so thin as is drifting smoke;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
105<\/td>\naut nebulae uolitent; nam aut ut graue pondere saxa<\/td>\nfor then they would either fall like heavy stones,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\npraecipitare tute cogerentur ut imber<\/td>\nor like mist they would be unable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nfrigidus e coactis nimbus concrescere ut amnis.<\/td>\nto hold together or contain the frozen snow and rain.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ndant etiam sonitum distenta per aethera mundi,<\/td>\nThey also give forth a sound through the levels of the sky,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ncarbasus ut quondam magnis intenta theatris<\/td>\nas at times a canvas stretched over a large theater<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
110<\/td>\ndat crepitum, quos inter iactatur brattea uentos;<\/td>\nmakes a cracking sound as it tosses between the poles;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ninter dum perscissa furens petulantibus euris<\/td>\nsometimes, torn by the wanton gusts of wind,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ndetonal, ut chartas uolitantis uerbere uenti<\/td>\nit rumbles like the sound of flying papers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ndiscindas; namque hoc etiam in genere est uideamus<\/td>\nwhipped by the wind; for you may observe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\naut ubi suspensam uestem chartasue uolantis<\/td>\nthat kind of noise when the wind lashes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
115<\/td>\nuerberibus uenti missis dispergit in auras.<\/td>\nclothes hung out or flying sheets of paper.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nfit quoque ut in nubes confieri non possint<\/td>\nIt happens too that clouds cannot always<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nobuia concurrere et tunc per latera illa<\/td>\nclash head-on, but rather<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ndiuerberentur ductae hinc inde secundo,<\/td>\nthey scrape past each other with a long-drawn sound,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nunde grauis tractus ille est et tardus ad auris,<\/td>\nwhich is why that heavy, dragging noise reaches the ears,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
120<\/td>\ndonec egesta magis spatio sunt angusta uiai.<\/td>\nuntil they have escaped from their narrow confinement.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nHoc etiam pacto uulgo tremere omnia uidentur<\/td>\nIn this way too all things often seem to tremble<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nterraque prosubito corruere et dissilire,<\/td>\nand the earth to suddenly shudder and fly apart,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ncum ualidi uenti collecti in nubibus altis<\/td>\nwhen a mighty wind, gathered in the high clouds,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nundique conclusi fecerunt impete magno<\/td>\nand shut in on all sides, has with great force<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
125<\/td>\nuoluere se et per latera illa uiaui<\/td>\nbegun to whirl and forced the cloud<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nextenuare magis denso cum corpore nubes;<\/td>\nwith its dense body to become thinner and thinner;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\npost ubi perfrigit uis illa et percitus aer<\/td>\nthen when that force has broken through and the air,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ndiffugit et magno uerberauit turbine nubes,<\/td>\ndriven out, has struck the clouds with a great whirlwind,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\ntum fit ut horribili sonitu res personet omnis.<\/td>\nit happens that the whole world echoes with a horrific sound.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
130<\/td>\nnec mirum, cum flatus item uesicula parua<\/td>\nAnd no wonder, since even a small bladder of air<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nsaepe dat in magnum sonitum conlisa repente.<\/td>\noften gives a loud pop when suddenly burst.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nEst etiam ratio, cum uenti per loca nubes<\/td>\nThere is also a reason when the winds blow through the clouds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nperflant, ut faciant sonitum; namque aspera multa<\/td>\nand make a sound; for we see many<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nuidemus in altis nubes et ramosa uolitare;<\/td>\nrough and branch-like clouds flying on high;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
135<\/td>\nscilicet ut, cum per densam cecidere siluam<\/td>\njust as when the blasts of the north wind blow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nflabra aquilonis, dant frondes murmura rauca<\/td>\nthrough a thick forest, the leaves rustle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\net ualidi uenti perflant et bracchia siluae.<\/td>\nand the strong winds whistle through the branches.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nfit quoque ut inter dum uis uenti ualida uersa<\/td>\nIt also happens that the strong force of the wind,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nperfrangat nubem concurrere perfracto<\/td>\nbreaking through the cloud,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
140<\/td>\nnam quid possit uenti uis ignis et aeris<\/td>\nfor what the force of the wind, fire, and air can do<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nhinc licet in terris cognoscere, cum leni<\/td>\nmay be learned here on earth, when with a gentle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nuento uis ualida est et magnos uerberat amnis.<\/td>\nwind the force is strong and lashes the great rivers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nfit quoque ut in nubes uentorum ualida uis<\/td>\nIt happens too that a strong force of winds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nincidat et magno uerberet turbine nubes,<\/td>\nfalls upon the clouds and strikes them with a great whirlwind,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
145<\/td>\ntum fit ut horribili sonitu res personet omnis.<\/td>\nthen it happens that the whole world echoes with a horrific sound.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nEst etiam ratio, cum uenti uerbera uenti<\/td>\nThere is also a reason when the winds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nperfrangunt nubem concurrere perfracto<\/td>\nbreak through the cloud\u2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nnam quid possit uenti uis ignis et aeris<\/td>\nfor what the force of the wind, fire, and air can do\u2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nhinc licet in terris cognoscere, cum leni<\/td>\nmay be learned here on earth\u2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
150<\/td>\nuento uis ualida est et magnos uerberat amnis.<\/td>\nwhen the wind is strong and lashes the great rivers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nDenique cum spectas totis cum uiribus ignem<\/td>\nFinally, when you look at a fire with all its strength<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nincidere in nubes, ut si uix ulla uideri<\/td>\nfalling upon the clouds, as if hardly any could be seen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nuis possit, tum fit ut horribili sonitu<\/td>\nthen it happens with a horrific sound<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nper nubes uolitet uentus ualida uis aeris.<\/td>\nthe wind flies through the clouds with a strong force of air.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
155<\/td>\nHoc etiam pacto tonitru cum uiribus ignis<\/td>\nIn this way too thunder with the forces of fire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nper nubes uolitet uentus ualida uis aeris.<\/td>\nflies through the clouds, a strong force of air.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nLauricomos ut si per montis flamma uagetur<\/td>\nAs if a flame should wander through the laurel-covered mountains<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nturbine uentorum conuoluens cuncta uapore;<\/td>\nin a whirlwind of winds, wrapping everything in its heat;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nnec res ulla magis quam Phoebi Delphica laurus<\/td>\nfor no thing crackles more in the burning fire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nterribili sonitu flamma crepitante crematur.<\/td>\nthan the Delphic laurel of Apollo with its terrible sound.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

3. Critical Apparatus: Testimonia and Codices<\/h3>\nThis section provides the philological context for the text, synthesized from the Diels 1923 Preface and established scholarly traditions for Book VI.\n

Testimonia<\/h4>\nThe following ancient citations specifically reference Lucretius\u2019s mechanical explanation of thunder:\n
    \n \t
  • Sen. Nat. II, 20, 1:<\/i>\u00a0Seneca notes the Lucretian theory regarding the collision of clouds (concurrunt sublime uolantes<\/i>) as the primary cause of thunder.<\/li>\n \t
  • Sen. Nat. II, 26, 4:<\/i>\u00a0References the analogy of theater awnings (carbasus<\/i>) used to explain the varying pitches of thunderclaps.<\/li>\n \t
  • Plin. Nat. II, 113:<\/i>\u00a0Pliny discusses the \u201cshattering\u201d of clouds (perfrigit uis illa<\/i>) as a mechanical rather than divine event, echoing Lucretius VI.127.<\/li>\n \t
  • Non. 408, 23:<\/i>\u00a0A general citation of Lucretian hexameters regarding the nature of the elements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Codices (Sigla)<\/h4>\nThe textual tradition of Lucretius relies on several primary manuscripts. The following sigla are used to distinguish between them:\n
      \n \t
    • O (Oblongus):<\/b>\u00a0Codex Vossianus Lat. Fol. 30. A 9th-century manuscript, written in the school of Alcuin at Fulda. It is the primary \u201cwitness\u201d for the 1923 Diels edition.<\/li>\n \t
    • Q (Quadratus):<\/b>\u00a0Codex Vossianus Lat. Qu. 94. A 9th or 10th-century manuscript formerly belonging to the monastery of St. Bertin. It represents a different branch of the archetype.<\/li>\n \t
    • G (Gottorpienses):<\/b>\u00a0Schedae Haunienses. Fragments from a 9th-century manuscript preserved in Copenhagen; it closely follows the tradition of Q.<\/li>\n \t
    • V\/U (Vindobonenses):<\/b>\u00a0Schedae Vindobonenses. 9th-century fragments preserved in Vienna, useful for verifying readings where O and Q diverge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Textual Notes<\/h4>\n
        \n \t
      • The \u201cSaxonicus\u201d (Os):<\/b>\u00a0A 9th-century corrector using Anglo-Saxon script who corrected the\u00a0Oblongus<\/i>\u00a0(O) by referencing the archetype itself. His corrections often restore the \u201cinsular\u201d readings that the original scribe missed.<\/li>\n \t
      • Dittography in Book VI:<\/b>\u00a0Lines 146\u2013150 and 155\u2013156 show significant repetition and corruption in the manuscripts (O and Q). Diels suggests these were either marginal variants that crept into the text or evidence of Lucretius\u2019s unfinished state of revision.<\/li>\n \t
      • The \u201cOtloh\u201d (O1):<\/b>\u00a0A later corrector, likely the monk Otloh of St. Emmeram (11th century), who emended the text at Fulda. In Book VI, his hand is often seen attempting to \u201csmooth\u201d the difficult technical descriptions of cloud collisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        4. Pressbooks Technical Formatting Guidelines<\/h3>\nTo ensure this module renders correctly within the Pressbooks editor for both Web and PDF outputs, please follow this Copy-Paste Guide:\n
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          • | |<\/code>\u00a0for the parallel text tables.<\/li>\n \t
          • *<\/code>\u00a0for bulleted lists and\u00a0italics<\/i>\u00a0in Latin citations.<\/li>\n \t
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              \n
              1. Introductory Context: The \u201cMagic\u201d of Causal Logic<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/header>\n

              For those not entirely submerged in the spirit of the modern age\u2014those who occasionally feel like spectators of the intellectual attitudes of their contemporaries\u2014the poem of Lucretius continues to work its \u201cmagic.\u201d This perspective, famously shared by Albert Einstein in his 1924 foreword to the Diels translation, highlights the profound impression made by Lucretius\u2019s \u201cfirm confidence\u201d in the intelligibility of the world. Lucretius, as a faithful disciple of Epicurus, places absolute trust in the \u201ccausal connectedness\u201d of every event in the universe. Einstein admired Lucretius as an \u201cindependent man equipped with lively senses and reasoning,\u201d one who imagined a world based on an \u201catomistic-mechanical worldview\u201d long before the advent of modern scientific results. For Einstein, Lucretius represents the triumph of speculative curiosity over the \u201cslavish fear\u201d of the unknown.<\/p>\n

              This transmission of wisdom across millennia is what David Attenborough identifies as the primary value of the printed book. Attenborough describes such works as \u201cmemes\u201d\u2014vessels in which human experience and knowledge are embedded and handed down from generation to generation, \u201coutside the body.\u201d He specifically values the 1515 Aldine edition of Lucretius, printed by Aldus Manutius in Venice. This edition, renowned for its \u201cwonderfully elegant italic script,\u201d served as a crucial tool for conveying information throughout the six centuries leading up to the electronic age. For Attenborough, the tactile experience of reading such an edition connects the modern scholar directly to the Renaissance humanists who first rescued Lucretius from the silence of the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n

              Lines 96\u2013159 of Book VI serve as a definitive example of this causal logic. Here, Lucretius addresses the phenomenon of thunder (DE TONITRV), removing it from the realm of divine intervention and placing it within the \u201ccausal connectedness\u201d of nature. By using physical analogies\u2014such as the snapping of theater awnings or the crackling of laurel branches in a fire\u2014he demonstrates that terrifying celestial events are the result of the regular motion of immutable atoms. By mapping the physics of the sky onto the mechanics of the household and the forum, Lucretius replaces the thunderbolts of Jupiter with the observable laws of matter and void.<\/p>\n

              2. DE TONITRV: Parallel Latin and English Text<\/h3>\n

              The following text presents the Latin established by Hermann Diels (1923) alongside a corresponding English translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
              Line<\/td>\n95a DE TONITRV (Latin Text: H. Diels, 1923)<\/td>\nEnglish Translation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              95<\/td>\n95a DE TONITRV<\/b><\/td>\n95a ON THUNDER<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              96<\/td>\nPrincipio tonitru quatiuntur caerula caeli<\/td>\nFirst of all, the blue of the sky is shaken with thunder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\npropterea quia concurrunt sublime uolantes<\/td>\nbecause the clouds of heaven, flying on high,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\naetheriae nubes contra pugnantibus uentis.<\/td>\nclash together when the winds are at war.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nnec fit enim sonitus caeli de parte serena,<\/td>\nFor no sound comes from a clear part of the sky,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              100<\/td>\nsed qua cumque magis denso sunt agmine nubes,<\/td>\nbut wherever the clouds are in a denser host,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ntarn magis hinc magno fremitus fit murmure saepe.<\/td>\nthe more frequently do they rumble with a loud noise.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\npraeterea neque tam condenso corpore extant<\/td>\nMoreover, clouds cannot consist of a body so dense<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nnubes ut saxi sint aut ut ligni uideantur,<\/td>\nas are stones or wood,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nnec rursum tam uanae sunt ut fumus hiulcus<\/td>\nnor again are they so thin as is drifting smoke;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              105<\/td>\naut nebulae uolitent; nam aut ut graue pondere saxa<\/td>\nfor then they would either fall like heavy stones,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\npraecipitare tute cogerentur ut imber<\/td>\nor like mist they would be unable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nfrigidus e coactis nimbus concrescere ut amnis.<\/td>\nto hold together or contain the frozen snow and rain.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ndant etiam sonitum distenta per aethera mundi,<\/td>\nThey also give forth a sound through the levels of the sky,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ncarbasus ut quondam magnis intenta theatris<\/td>\nas at times a canvas stretched over a large theater<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              110<\/td>\ndat crepitum, quos inter iactatur brattea uentos;<\/td>\nmakes a cracking sound as it tosses between the poles;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ninter dum perscissa furens petulantibus euris<\/td>\nsometimes, torn by the wanton gusts of wind,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ndetonal, ut chartas uolitantis uerbere uenti<\/td>\nit rumbles like the sound of flying papers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ndiscindas; namque hoc etiam in genere est uideamus<\/td>\nwhipped by the wind; for you may observe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\naut ubi suspensam uestem chartasue uolantis<\/td>\nthat kind of noise when the wind lashes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              115<\/td>\nuerberibus uenti missis dispergit in auras.<\/td>\nclothes hung out or flying sheets of paper.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nfit quoque ut in nubes confieri non possint<\/td>\nIt happens too that clouds cannot always<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nobuia concurrere et tunc per latera illa<\/td>\nclash head-on, but rather<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ndiuerberentur ductae hinc inde secundo,<\/td>\nthey scrape past each other with a long-drawn sound,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nunde grauis tractus ille est et tardus ad auris,<\/td>\nwhich is why that heavy, dragging noise reaches the ears,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              120<\/td>\ndonec egesta magis spatio sunt angusta uiai.<\/td>\nuntil they have escaped from their narrow confinement.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nHoc etiam pacto uulgo tremere omnia uidentur<\/td>\nIn this way too all things often seem to tremble<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nterraque prosubito corruere et dissilire,<\/td>\nand the earth to suddenly shudder and fly apart,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ncum ualidi uenti collecti in nubibus altis<\/td>\nwhen a mighty wind, gathered in the high clouds,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nundique conclusi fecerunt impete magno<\/td>\nand shut in on all sides, has with great force<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              125<\/td>\nuoluere se et per latera illa uiaui<\/td>\nbegun to whirl and forced the cloud<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nextenuare magis denso cum corpore nubes;<\/td>\nwith its dense body to become thinner and thinner;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\npost ubi perfrigit uis illa et percitus aer<\/td>\nthen when that force has broken through and the air,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ndiffugit et magno uerberauit turbine nubes,<\/td>\ndriven out, has struck the clouds with a great whirlwind,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\ntum fit ut horribili sonitu res personet omnis.<\/td>\nit happens that the whole world echoes with a horrific sound.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              130<\/td>\nnec mirum, cum flatus item uesicula parua<\/td>\nAnd no wonder, since even a small bladder of air<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nsaepe dat in magnum sonitum conlisa repente.<\/td>\noften gives a loud pop when suddenly burst.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nEst etiam ratio, cum uenti per loca nubes<\/td>\nThere is also a reason when the winds blow through the clouds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nperflant, ut faciant sonitum; namque aspera multa<\/td>\nand make a sound; for we see many<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nuidemus in altis nubes et ramosa uolitare;<\/td>\nrough and branch-like clouds flying on high;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              135<\/td>\nscilicet ut, cum per densam cecidere siluam<\/td>\njust as when the blasts of the north wind blow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nflabra aquilonis, dant frondes murmura rauca<\/td>\nthrough a thick forest, the leaves rustle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\net ualidi uenti perflant et bracchia siluae.<\/td>\nand the strong winds whistle through the branches.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nfit quoque ut inter dum uis uenti ualida uersa<\/td>\nIt also happens that the strong force of the wind,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nperfrangat nubem concurrere perfracto<\/td>\nbreaking through the cloud,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              140<\/td>\nnam quid possit uenti uis ignis et aeris<\/td>\nfor what the force of the wind, fire, and air can do<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nhinc licet in terris cognoscere, cum leni<\/td>\nmay be learned here on earth, when with a gentle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nuento uis ualida est et magnos uerberat amnis.<\/td>\nwind the force is strong and lashes the great rivers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nfit quoque ut in nubes uentorum ualida uis<\/td>\nIt happens too that a strong force of winds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nincidat et magno uerberet turbine nubes,<\/td>\nfalls upon the clouds and strikes them with a great whirlwind,<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              145<\/td>\ntum fit ut horribili sonitu res personet omnis.<\/td>\nthen it happens that the whole world echoes with a horrific sound.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nEst etiam ratio, cum uenti uerbera uenti<\/td>\nThere is also a reason when the winds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nperfrangunt nubem concurrere perfracto<\/td>\nbreak through the cloud\u2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nnam quid possit uenti uis ignis et aeris<\/td>\nfor what the force of the wind, fire, and air can do\u2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nhinc licet in terris cognoscere, cum leni<\/td>\nmay be learned here on earth\u2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              150<\/td>\nuento uis ualida est et magnos uerberat amnis.<\/td>\nwhen the wind is strong and lashes the great rivers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nDenique cum spectas totis cum uiribus ignem<\/td>\nFinally, when you look at a fire with all its strength<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nincidere in nubes, ut si uix ulla uideri<\/td>\nfalling upon the clouds, as if hardly any could be seen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nuis possit, tum fit ut horribili sonitu<\/td>\nthen it happens with a horrific sound<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nper nubes uolitet uentus ualida uis aeris.<\/td>\nthe wind flies through the clouds with a strong force of air.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              155<\/td>\nHoc etiam pacto tonitru cum uiribus ignis<\/td>\nIn this way too thunder with the forces of fire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nper nubes uolitet uentus ualida uis aeris.<\/td>\nflies through the clouds, a strong force of air.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nLauricomos ut si per montis flamma uagetur<\/td>\nAs if a flame should wander through the laurel-covered mountains<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nturbine uentorum conuoluens cuncta uapore;<\/td>\nin a whirlwind of winds, wrapping everything in its heat;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nnec res ulla magis quam Phoebi Delphica laurus<\/td>\nfor no thing crackles more in the burning fire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              <\/td>\nterribili sonitu flamma crepitante crematur.<\/td>\nthan the Delphic laurel of Apollo with its terrible sound.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

              3. Critical Apparatus: Testimonia and Codices<\/h3>\n

              This section provides the philological context for the text, synthesized from the Diels 1923 Preface and established scholarly traditions for Book VI.<\/p>\n

              Testimonia<\/h4>\n

              The following ancient citations specifically reference Lucretius\u2019s mechanical explanation of thunder:<\/p>\n

                \n
              • Sen. Nat. II, 20, 1:<\/i>\u00a0Seneca notes the Lucretian theory regarding the collision of clouds (concurrunt sublime uolantes<\/i>) as the primary cause of thunder.<\/li>\n
              • Sen. Nat. II, 26, 4:<\/i>\u00a0References the analogy of theater awnings (carbasus<\/i>) used to explain the varying pitches of thunderclaps.<\/li>\n
              • Plin. Nat. II, 113:<\/i>\u00a0Pliny discusses the \u201cshattering\u201d of clouds (perfrigit uis illa<\/i>) as a mechanical rather than divine event, echoing Lucretius VI.127.<\/li>\n
              • Non. 408, 23:<\/i>\u00a0A general citation of Lucretian hexameters regarding the nature of the elements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Codices (Sigla)<\/h4>\n

                The textual tradition of Lucretius relies on several primary manuscripts. The following sigla are used to distinguish between them:<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • O (Oblongus):<\/b>\u00a0Codex Vossianus Lat. Fol. 30. A 9th-century manuscript, written in the school of Alcuin at Fulda. It is the primary \u201cwitness\u201d for the 1923 Diels edition.<\/li>\n
                • Q (Quadratus):<\/b>\u00a0Codex Vossianus Lat. Qu. 94. A 9th or 10th-century manuscript formerly belonging to the monastery of St. Bertin. It represents a different branch of the archetype.<\/li>\n
                • G (Gottorpienses):<\/b>\u00a0Schedae Haunienses. Fragments from a 9th-century manuscript preserved in Copenhagen; it closely follows the tradition of Q.<\/li>\n
                • V\/U (Vindobonenses):<\/b>\u00a0Schedae Vindobonenses. 9th-century fragments preserved in Vienna, useful for verifying readings where O and Q diverge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Textual Notes<\/h4>\n
                    \n
                  • The \u201cSaxonicus\u201d (Os):<\/b>\u00a0A 9th-century corrector using Anglo-Saxon script who corrected the\u00a0Oblongus<\/i>\u00a0(O) by referencing the archetype itself. His corrections often restore the \u201cinsular\u201d readings that the original scribe missed.<\/li>\n
                  • Dittography in Book VI:<\/b>\u00a0Lines 146\u2013150 and 155\u2013156 show significant repetition and corruption in the manuscripts (O and Q). Diels suggests these were either marginal variants that crept into the text or evidence of Lucretius\u2019s unfinished state of revision.<\/li>\n
                  • The \u201cOtloh\u201d (O1):<\/b>\u00a0A later corrector, likely the monk Otloh of St. Emmeram (11th century), who emended the text at Fulda. In Book VI, his hand is often seen attempting to \u201csmooth\u201d the difficult technical descriptions of cloud collisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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